Polk County Sheriff's Office Agricultural
Detectives arrested three suspects yesterday evening (Tuesday, Aug. 12,
2003) and charged them with several counts of Unlawful Commercial Dumping.
The arrests were the result of an investigation into a string of cases in
which piles of tree limbs were being dumped in the middle of roadways in
the Southeast part of the county (Dundee, Lake Hamilton and Lake Wales
areas). The cases were profiled in a Crime Stoppers bulletin in July.

During the investigation, detectives received
information that the suspects (who work in a tree trimming business) were
responsible for the illegal dumping cases. Detectives subsequently caught
them in the act of dumping a trailer load of limbs on Harris Road (south
of Babson Park) at around 7:30 p.m. last night. The suspects were arrested
and booked into the Polk County Jail.